Early Breakfast withRelebogile Mabotja

CapeTalk/702's Eusebius Mckaiser speaks to Professor Hlonipha Mokoena, an associate professor at Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (Wiser), about the origin and the history of Knobkerrie.

This is a short stick with a knob at the top, traditionally used as a weapon by mostly Zulu and Xhosa tribes.

Lately, it has been seen also being used as a fashion statement by youngsters, calling it a swagger stick.

Mokoena argues that the Knobkerrie is not just a weapon as people assume but it can be used for ceremonial purposes.

You basically hold it in your hand to show that you are a man of stature or wealth.

— Professor Hlonipha Mokoena, an associate professor at Wits

Although it looks very dangerous it is actually not meant to kill anybody...You can use to hunt small animals like rabbits...

— Professor Hlonipha Mokoena, an associate professor at Wits

The idea that it is a killing abject it is actually a colonial idea. It's not that the Zulu tribe did not get into fights and end up fighting each other using them but they were not made as a weapon it had other purposes.

— Professor Hlonipha Mokoena, an associate professor at Wits

Prof Mokoena provided fascinating historical insights on how guns were introduced into tribes and often became the preferred weapon.